Dawn of the Dead (1979)
the movie stars David Emge as Stephen "Flyboy" Andrews/Zombie Ken Foree as Peter Washington Scott Reiniger as Roger "Trooper" DeMarco/Zombie Gaylen Ross as Francine "Fran" Parker David Crawford as Dr. James Foster David Early as Mr. Sidney Berman Richard France as Dr. Millard Rausch, Scientist Howard Smith as TV Commentator Daniel Dietrich as Mr. Dan Givens Tom Savini as Motorcycle Raider Fred Baker as Police Commander Jim Baffico as Wooley, Maniacal SWAT Cop Rod Stouffer as Rod Tucker, Young SWAT Cop on Roof Several Romero regulars appeared in cameos: Joe Pilato appears as Head Officer at Police Dock, Tom Savini as Blades, Assistant Head Biker/Mechanic Zombie shot through glass/Zombie hit by truck, and Taso Stavrakis as Sledge, Biker (with Sledgehammer)/Fountain Zombie/Sailor Zombie/Chestburst Zombie. Dawn of the Dead (also known internationally as Zombi) is a 1978 American independent zombie horror film directed by George A. Romero. It was written by Romero in collaboration with the Italian filmmaker Dario Argento and produced by Richard P. Rubinstein. It was the second film made in Romero's Night of the Living Dead series and shows in a larger scale the apocalyptic effects on society, though it contains no characters or settings from the film Night of the Living Dead. In the film, a phenomenon of unidentified origin has caused the reanimation of the dead, who prey on human flesh. David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott Reiniger, and Gaylen Ross star as survivors of the outbreak who barricade themselves inside a suburban shopping mall amid mass hysteria. Plot The United States is devastated by a mysterious phenomenon that reanimates recently deceased human beings as flesh-eating zombies. Three weeks after it began - despite the best efforts by the U.S. government and local authorities to control the situation -millions of people have been killed and reanimate; social order is collapsing. Some rural communities and the military have been effective in fighting the zombie hordes in open country, but urban centers are helpless and largely overrun. Confusion reigns at the WGON television studio in Philadelphia by the phenomenon's third week, where staff members Stephen Andrews and Francine Parker are planning to steal the station's traffic helicopter to escape the city. Meanwhile, police SWAT officer Roger DiMarco and his team raid a housing project where the residents are defying the martial law of delivering their dead to National Guardsmen. Some residents fight back with handguns and rifles, and are killed by both the overzealous SWAT team and their own reanimated dead. During the raid, Roger meets Peter Washington, part of another SWAT team, and they partner up together. Roger tells Peter that his friend Stephen intends to steal his workplace's helicopter and flee, and suggests that Peter come with them. They are informed of a group of zombies trapped in the basement, which they assist in the grim job of destroying. That night, Roger and Peter rendezvous with Francine and Stephen and leave Philadelphia in the helicopter. Following some close calls while stopping for fuel, the group comes across a shopping mall, which they decide to make their sanctuary. The group devise an operation to block the mall entrances with trucks to keep the undead masses outside from building up enough cumulative force to break through. Peter and Stephen also craft a wooden barrier to cover the access to the stairwell that leads to their living space. During the blockade operation, Roger suffers from a mental break, becomes reckless and is bitten by the zombies. After clearing the interior of zombies, the four are able to enjoy a hedonistic lifestyle with all the goods available to them, furnishing their makeshift apartment with the mall's many commodities. Roger eventually succumbs to his wounds, soon reanimates and is shot in the head by Peter. After several months, all emergency broadcast transmissions cease, suggesting that the government has collapsed and a large portion of the population has been killed and reanimated. Francine, now visibly showing her pregnancy, presses to be prepared to leave the shopping mall. Ammo and other supplies are loaded into the helicopter, and Stephen teaches Francine how to operate the helicopter in case of emergency. A gang of nomadic motorcyclists, having seen the helicopter during one of Francine's flying lessons, arrive to conquer the mall destroying the barriers and allowing hundreds of zombies inside during the incursion. Peter and Stephen try locking the gates to prevent looting, The rioting bikers enrage Stephen and he foolishly starts a gun battle with them. Both Peter and Stephen flee to the apartment, but as Stephen tries to escape through an elevator shaft, is shot in the arm, then cornered by the undead and bitten several times. As some of the bikers, shot by Peter, are consumed by the zombies, the rest retreat with their stolen goods. A reanimated Stephen, apparently acting on a remnant of his former memories, limps over to the false wall covering the stairwell and leads the undead to Francine and Peter. As Stephen enters their hideout, Peter kills him while Francine escapes to the roof. Peter then locks himself in a room and contemplates suicide. When zombies burst into the room, he has a change of heart and fights his way up to the roof, where he joins Francine. The two then fly away in the partially fueled helicopter to an uncertain future. Category:Movies Category:Zombie Movies Category:Horror Movies